Soldier’s monument rededicated

Published 7:20 pm, Saturday, September 12, 2015

Residents arrive to the annual rededication ceremony at the Soldiers’ Monument and Memorial Park on Saturday, Sept. 12. 2015

Residents arrive to the annual rededication ceremony at the Soldiers’ Monument and Memorial Park on Saturday, Sept. 12. 2015

Photo: Stephen Underwood — Register Citizen

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Residents arrive to the annual rededication ceremony at the Soldiers’ Monument and Memorial Park on Saturday, Sept. 12. 2015

Residents arrive to the annual rededication ceremony at the Soldiers’ Monument and Memorial Park on Saturday, Sept. 12. 2015

Photo: Stephen Underwood - Register Citizen

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Soldier’s monument rededicated in Winsted

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WINSTED >> For 125 years, the Soldiers’ Monument and Memorial Park has been a source of pride in town and a beacon for local residents to feel inspired while honoring the sacrifice of Winsted’s soldiers that fought in the Civil War.

The monument was born out of a proposed memorial for town residents who served in the Civil War by the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a fraternal organization composed of Union Army veterans, in 1870.

After more than 20 years of planning and debate, the Soldiers’ monument was dedicated Sept. 11, 1890, while an estimated 20,000 attended in what the Hartford Courant called “Winsted’s Glorious Day.”

After more than a century and a quarter later, the monument was re-dedicated on Saturday as part of a series of events honoring its construction under the theme “Coming Home.”

With around 100 in attendance a wreath was laid in front of the monument while Rep. Jay Case (R-63) presented a General Assembly citation in honor of its 125th anniversary.

“Today, we celebrate one of Winsted’s most famous landmarks,” said Steven Silvester, Soldiers’ Monument Commission Chairman. “We also honor the veterans whose names are enshrined here.”

Among the festivities the Gilbert School band played the National Anthem and Taps in solemn remembrance of the soldiers the monument honors.

The keynote speaker Bill Hosley, local historian, connected the monument with the town’s deep sense of civic spirit.

“If you met a stranger and had to describe where you live, what would you tell them?” asked Hosley. “I would say that Winsted offers a pathway of ideas and imagination that inspires civic attachment.”

Hosley said that too often people lose any emotional attachment to the place they call home.

“So many today are in a way homeless. As we move around we lose our sense of home and civic attachment,” said Hosley.

To Hosley, the monument and re-dedication serves as an example of Winsted’s active civic spirit.

“Events like this are the clearest example of the spirit that made this weekend possible,” said Hosley. “This monument is a symbol of hope for the future.”

The monument is the 2nd largest Civil War monument in the state after the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch in Hartford. Winsted is also the only city along with Hartford and New Haven to have three Civil War monuments in the state.

Descendants from the towns Civil War soldiers were on hand to be honored in the ceremony with some having traveled from other states to recognize their ancestors.

“My whole family served in the military,” said Roberta A. Basquin, who traveled from North Carolina to be at the ceremony. “I am a descendant of my great-great-great grandfather Joseph Petit who served in the Civil War. My great uncle and my father Louis Basquin both served as well.”

Basquin is a 4 year ROTC graduate and served in the Army for two years during Desert Storm.

“It’s important for everybody to serve,” said Basquin. “We feel privileged to have had the chance to give back.”

Other descendants were on hand to pay their respects.

William Hall Jr. from Plymouth came to honor his ancestor Col. Augustus Hall Fenn of the 19th Connecticut Volunteer Company who would later go on to be a Justice on the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors.

“My father took me to Gettysburg when I was 4 years old and I have been interested in Civil War history ever since,” said Hall. “I grew up with my family history and it’s great to see it honored here today.”

The monument served as a focal point in town and meeting place where people hiked to and held picnics at for over 100 years.

“It’s a success story,” said Silvester, Soldiers’ Monument Commission Chairman. “Even after 20 years of bitter political fighting they came up with this stunning monument. It’s a lesson even for today of the great things we can accomplish if we work together.”